DIRECTIONS

The key here is a hot pizza stone. While the grill can say 500 degrees, the pizza stone could be at a much lower temp if not warmed long enough. Fire up your Egg or Weber Kettle grill to 500 - 600 degrees. Once the grill gets up to about 300, toss on your pizza stone and let it come up to 500 - 600 degrees. I love the FOGO lump charcoal for this as it burns SUPER hot!!! Get some and tell them you are a Michigan fan.

I like to let my pizza stone warm for at least 45 minutes. If I can give it an hour, even better. I like to set my stone up off the grate to allow for better air flow. The higher you can get it near the dome, the better browning you’ll have on that gooey cheese.

While I love homemade dough, it’s a pain in the nation’s best tight end to make. I’ll just pick some up from my local pizzeria or buy it at Trader Joe’s. Typically, your local pizza shop will sell you some dough on the cheap if you ask them. As the grill and stone are heating up, take your store bought dough and place it on a floured surface. Start by pressing down in the middle of the dough and forming an outer edge. Rotate the dough as you continue to press outwardly. You want to keep that thicker outer edge to ensure a bubbly crust.

I like a thin and crispy crust, so I made this one extremely thin in the middle. Once you get it to the size you like, it’s ready to transfer to your pizza peel or cutting board. Prior to transfer, dust your board with a few tablespoons of corn meal or semolina flour. We want to make sure the pizza dough doesn’t stick.

After you place the dough on the dusted board, give it a few shakes to make sure it’s not sticking. Now it’s time for the sauce. I love a traditional pizza with tomato sauce, cheese and basil, but this one is a little different. I had some leftover pulled brisket in the freezer and wanted to use it up. I spread some Lane’s “Kinda Sweet” BBQ sauce on the dough and then added some mozzarella cheese. Since this is a thin crust pizza, you don’t want to go heavy on the toppings. The crust will burn before the toppings finish if it’s too much.

This Lane’s Kinda Sweet sauce has a nice sweet flavor and pairs well with the salty cheese and brisket combo.

Once the pie is ready to go and the pizza stone has been on a hot 500 degree surface for at least 45 minutes, dust the hot stone with more corn meal and toss on your pie. As long as the temperatures are between 400 and 700 degrees, you are fine. I have found that 500 – 600 works best for me. At 500 degrees, this will cook for about 6-7 minutes total.

After three minutes, give the pizza a twist. You will notice that some of the outer crust has started to char and bubble a little. Move it around so it doesn’t get burned. After 6 minutes, give it another look. Once the cheese and crust are done to your liking, remove from the stone with your peel or cutting board. The crust should be crunchy and have that brick over char on it. You can brush the crust with some garlic butter or oil at the end to put it over the top.

Go at it with your pizza cutter, end enjoy! This is a fun tailgate activity as everyone can make their own pie and have it done in under 10 minutes. Take a bunch of dough and toppings and let everyone pitch in.